Victory In NM: Background Check Bill Stalls After Vote

A New Mexico House Committee voted Monday to table HB 548, a so-called “universal” background check measure. Though the bill isn’t officially dead, this vote will make it nearly impossible for the measure to become law this session.

The measure would have required anyone purchasing a firearm from a private individual through either a print or online advertisement or at a gun show to submit to a NICS check. While the legislation was less sweeping than a previous bill—which would have also required background checks for anyone borrowing a gun—opponents pointed out that it would be unenforceable. One county sheriff, Tony Mace of Cibola County, went so far as to say, shortly after the vote, “It looks like we’re targeting law-abiding citizens.”

District Attorney John Sugg was equally pessimistic, according to the Albuquerque Journal: “We don’t know how we would compel people to provide the evidence we’d need to secure a conviction … I see this more as an anti-gun bill than an anti-crime bill.”

South Dakota: “Permitless” Carry Bill Needs Your Help

We mentioned last week that the South Dakota Senate had passed House Bill 1072. The “permitless” concealed carry bill now awaits Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s signature. Sponsored by Republican State Rep. Lynne DiSanto, HB 1072 removes the requirement to obtain a permit to lawfully carry a firearm for self-defense.

It’s imperative that gun owners and Second Amendment advocates contact the governor today and urge his support of this important measure. According to the Argus Leader, Daugaard has already met with lawmakers and supporters of the bill, and he has indicated his plans to veto.

"The inconvenience to the law-abiding citizen is so minimal,” Daugaard weakly argued. The governor seems to be forgetting that bearing arms is a constitutional right, not a privilege, and that no law will prevent a criminal from getting a gun. Because neither the Senate nor House have enough votes to override a governor’s veto, your immediate response is critical.

Use Your Power!

Call (605) 773-3212 to reach Gov. Daugaard and urge him to sign House Bill 1072 into law ortake action here.

Wisconsin PD Says Honor Guard Should Omit Traditional 21-Gun Salute.

Citing a dated and traditionally disregarded city ordinance, Beloit Police have asked the Honor Guard to exclude the time-honored 21-gun salute before a veteran’s burial on President’s Day. The regulation states no weapons should be fired within the city limits, but those who have served in the guard for half a century say this is the first time they have ever been asked to ignore tradition. Not surprisingly, veterans and other concerned residents packed the City Hall to complain.

According to American Military News, BPD Chief David Zibolski argued the noise in a residential area could “cause concerns over public safety,” adding that honorary firings stand as a potential risk to the neighborhood's “general peace.” However, citizens’ and veterans’ disagreement with Zibolski was virtually unanimous. Dave Luebke, City Council president, summed up the sentiment of most in attendance: “The salute is a dignified and honorable way to honor our veterans, and that will not change.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Raises A Racket Over “Deadly Silencers”

Calling suppressors “deadly gun silencers,” U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand railed against pending legislation that would remove unnecessary federal regulations on devices that would help protect shooters’ hearing: “These deadly gun silencers pose a huge risk to our enforcement and our communities and I will do everything I can to stop this ill-thought-out legislation that would allow more criminals to get their hands on these dangerous weapons,” she said.

However, despite Gillibrand’s suggestions to the contrary, suppressors are not weapons; their use in crime is rare, despite the fact that Gillibrand’s criminals can learn to make one from an oil filter on YouTube.

Restoring Veterans’ 2A Rights The Same Way We Restored Those Of Social Security Recipients

In a March 14 letter, Americans For Responsible Solutions, founded by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelley, enlisted former military leaders in the effort to allow the Veterans Administration to continue to arbitrarily restrict the 2A rights of veterans who appoint a designated payee to help them with their financial affairs.

A similar scheme that allowed the Social Security Administration to add up to 75,000 recipients’ names to the National Instant Check Background System was overturned in February. Both plans flag recipients of benefits who need help managing their finances as being “mentally deficient” for mental illnesses like eating disorders.

The VA plan not only stigmatizes tens of thousands of veterans, the vast majority of whom pose no threat; it also ignores the benefits to those veterans who find shooting and hunting therapeutic and calming. A1F even spoke to a member of a wounded warrior shooting team, whom the VA barred from participating because his mother helped him pay his bills. The policy prevents such veterans from applying for much-needed VA benefits for fear of having their rights stripped away.